Restaurant employer pleads guilty to hiring 'phantom workers'
Posted: 13 March 2009 1949 hrs

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SINGAPORE: One employer has pleaded guilty to hiring 'phantom workers' in order to inflate his foreign worker entitlement.

Sulaiman Abdullah, also known as Tommy Goh Beng Hock, director of Restu Muslim Seafood Restaurant, pleaded guilty on Friday to falsely declaring the number of local workers employed.

He made CPF contributions to five Singaporeans who were actually not employed by the business. Four were former workers, while another had never worked for the business.

Sulaiman, who will be sentenced on March 26, applied for ten work permits, in which he declared that the company had only included CPF contributions made to persons actively employed by the company.

Two other people also faced similar charges on Friday.

Teng Joon Fong, operations manager of Entrade Marine and Industrial, faced 33 charges of making false declarations in work pass applications, while Wong Piang Kai, the sole proprietor of Yuenson Packaging, faced 50 charges.

Besides these cases, 14 other employers involved in construction, marine, logistics, restaurant and manufacturing businesses faced 571 similar charges.

Under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act, inflating the foreign worker entitlement by falsely declaring the number of local workers is punishable with a fine of up to S$15,000 or 12 months' imprisonment, or both.

Besides the employer, the 'phantom worker' may also face prosecution for abetting the offence.


- CNA/so